Fact-Checking Sites
Before the 2016 election, these fact-checker sites were mainly used to double-check what politicians said in major speeches and debates, or to analyze urban legends. But with so many supposed news posts spreading across social media and the era of Fake News, these sites are quite useful and traffic is much heavier.
For major speeches, most major news outlets will offer an annotated, fact-checked, version of the transcript. I've seen them in the New York Times, Washington Post, and NPR.
These sites have no overt political bias. Most spring from newspapers double-checking political speeches.
- FactCheck.org
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Started by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania in 2003, they focus on fact-checking federal-level politicians and their talking points. They objectively research political statements in the form of fairly lengthy articles. - Factcheck.org's Viral Spiral
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Initiative to quickly debunk internet rumors. Listed by date, most recent first, or keyword search for older ones. - Politifact
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Started by the Tampa Bay Times in 2007, it analyzes statements made by American politicians on their Truth-o-Meter scale of True, Mostly True, Half True, Mostly False, False, and Pants On Fire outright lies. - Snopes
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This site has been researching urban legends since 1994. (Was started by a guy with a computer science background and a passion for urban legends and folklore, but most of the other contributors have a journalism background.) Best bet for information on questionable stories that aren't strictly political. They use a rating system of true, mostly true, mixture, mostly false, false, unproven, and legend (pure urban legend - so vague that could maybe have happened, therefore can't prove/disprove). - Washington Post's Fact Checker
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Washington Post initiative started in Fall 2007, with Glenn Kessler as the managing editor. Focuses on the federal government: President, presidential candidates, Cabinet officials, and Congress, and fact-checks their statements. Uses a scale of 1 to 4 Pinocchios for misleading statements, and the Geppetto Checkmark for true statements, along with analysis. Since it's part of the Washington Post, it's free only up to 20 articles/month from a particular IP number.
